Croatian Magical Tales

Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić (1874–1938) was a Croatian children's writer and poet. Many generations of her family were notable literati, linguists, public and political figures. The girl received an excellent home education and was fluent in several languages. Following in the footsteps of her famous relatives, she became interested in literature from a young age: Ivana wrote essays, poems, stories, and novels. The writer's work was predominantly aimed at a child audience. Through her own children, she explored the purity of the child's soul and the peculiarities of a child's perception of the world. In 1902, her first collection of stories and songs for the youngest readers was published. Brlić-Mažuranić's works were highly appreciated by the public, and she continued to publish. Ivana was nominated for the Nobel Prize twice, and her works have been translated into many languages. In 1916, a collection of her fairy tales "Tales of Long Ago" was published, considered the pinnacle of the writer's literary work; it brought her the greatest fame.

This edition includes six of her magical Croatian fairy tales. The pages of the collection await readers with dangerous adventures, wondrous prophecies, unbreakable vows, and examples of true friendship. The fairy tales in the collection are imbued with the spirit of magic; they introduce extraordinary beings from the legends of ancient Slavs: powerful gods, brave heroes, nimble household spirits, and treacherous devils. The wonderful illustrations by Vladimir Kirin, which detail the mythical heroes and described events, help to immerse the reader in a fairy-tale reality.